Two passengers with false passports not with Asian appearance

KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's authorities confirmed on Monday that the two passengers boarding the missing Malaysian plane with false passports are not with Asian appearance.

Director General of Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation Azharuddin Abdul Rahman denied at a media conference an earlier report that the two passengers boarding Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 with false European passports are Asian looking, but he did not elaborate on how they are looking and where they are from.

Local media reported earlier Monday that one of the two suspects who used stolen passports has been identified. Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said the man has been identified based on CCTV footage gathered from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

The Boeing 777--200ER aircraft, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members, vanished shortly after takeoff at 1:20 a.m. Saturday morning when it was flying over the Ho Chi Minh air traffic control area in Vietnam.

At around 10:20 a.m. local time (0320 GMT), Vietnamese marine police aircraft spotted the object at 074730 North (Longitude) and 1025712 East (Latitude), some 177 km southwest of Vietnam's Tho Chu Island, VNExpress online newspaper said.Full story

NEW DELHI, March 10 (Xinhua) -- India on Monday announced it is ready to offer help to hunt a Malaysian Airlines flight which went missing more than two days ago over the South China Sea.

"I have sent my condolences (to the families of the passengers) and our ambassador (in Beijing) is in touch with them. We are ready to give any help, if required, or share information if we get any," Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told the media.Full story

KUALA LUMPUR/HANOI/CANBERRA, March 9 (Xinhua) -- More aircraft and ships joined the multinational search operations for a Beijing-bound Malaysian jetliner Sunday, one day after it lost contact with air traffic control.Full story

KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A Malaysian passenger plane carrying 239 people, including 227 passengers and 12 crew members, has lost contact with air traffic control after leaving Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur, the carrier said Saturday.

Malaysia Airlines said flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200, lost touch with Subang Air Traffic Control around 02:40 a.m. local time Saturday morning (1840 GMT Friday).Full Story